It hasn’t been long since scientists began to understand the real reasons why streams in cleared farmland and populated areas lose their ability to support wildlife. For centuries it was accepted that to use it meant we had to lose it. Sure, we could figure out that a lack of cover and a lack of food killed aquatic organisms but the reasons why fertile streams became dead waterways or even why they dried up after flowing for thousands of years were more elusive. 

The main cause turned out to be rather simple, really. We exposed our streams to the sun. 

An environment is like a web of life, each part supporting every other part and like a spider’s web, delicate but strong.

Organizations like Ducks Unlimited pointed the way first, at least they tried to warn us that wetlands were a key part of the whole picture and  that entire river valleys and waterways were dependent on the wetlands health… but there was more. How obvious it seems now that headwater streams, the nurseries of so much we value, need to be shielded from the sun? A simple lack of shade and shelter provided by lowly shrubs and bushes can mean all the difference in a stream’s total health. Without shade, water temperatures rise and evaporation increases. The stream begins to die and the spectrum of living things which depend upon it, wild birds, fish, plants and flowers begin to disappear.

Thirty years ago, suggesting that cattle should be restricted access to streams on a farmer’s property would earn you a quick trip to the nearest road. Now many farmers actively cooperate in fencing projects which keep their cattle from stripping streamside vegetation. The streams are still there for a livestock water supply but access is limited and the stream bottom protected by stone and gravel fill. A cooler and healthier water supply results and the rest of the stream remains healthy. 

One of the best examples of stream rehabilitation progress is in the headwaters of the Bighead River. A small Owen Sound organization called the Scenic City Order of Good Cheer started a number of projects on Bighead River tributaries which immediately began to show results. Funding was obtained from local contributors and from the Ministry of Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Protection and Enhancement Fund. The work was coordinated and planned by Henderson and Paddon Consulting Engineers with strong backing from H&P president Jeff Graham.

Former Ministry of the Environment staffer Arnie Clark and MPP Bill Murdoch have been key supporters of the project and local property owners have made all the stream projects possible.

In the last year farm stream fencing of Bighead River tributaries was completed at seven locations, on the Mark Torrie,VanHorne and Sutherland farms on Springhill Creek, the Reid farm on Walter Creek, the Boyd farm on a branch of the west Minniehill Creek, the Brent Torrie farm and the Mustard farm on an upper Bighead branch. In addition there were beaver dams and flow-restricting debris removed on Rocklyn Creek.

With the cooperation of property owners, five more farm fencing projects have been planned for 2002 and plans are underway by the Grey-Sauble Conservation Authority to do modifications to the Bognor Marsh Dam. 

These small projects won’t roll the clock back and erase 200 years of settlement and population growth effects on the Bighead River but it’s a beginning and will positively affect the health of the entire river system. Using a stream doesn’t mean it has to die. Perhaps it will be an inspiration to the stakeholders of other watersheds, demonstrating that with a little care and good sense, we can have our cake… and eat it too.